Asthma risk for babies on antibiotics
Researchers from Yale University found that infants treated with antibiotic drugs faced a 40 per cent rise in risk of developing asthma if they were prescribed a single course of treatment in the first few months of life. But the dangers increased by 70 per cent if they were given a second batch of drugs for hard-to-treat infections.
It’s believed the drugs may interfere with the development of the gut, resulting in the immune system becoming unbalanced. The study was conducted on 1,400 babies, and targeted children treated for infections other than chest-related problems and with no family history of asthma.
The results of the study, due to be published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, showed a big increase in risk, even if the children had never had chest infections and did not come from an asthmatic family.
This is the latest in a string of studies to link antibiotics with asthma. But experts have been divided over whether the drugs really are to blame, or whether the children studied would probably have developed asthma anyway.
Research leader Dr Kari Risnes said: 'The findings from our study should encourage doctors to avoid unnecessary antibiotic use, especially in low-risk children.'
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Mothercare
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